Willowflare's past
'NOTE: '''Hello! This is my first fanfiction. I will add the cat's of the clans probably in the next book, because they really don't have much use here in this book. And for a note, sometimes I may call Moth "Bush", because these cats- and their story- comes from a roleplay. I changed Bush's name to Moth, because, what mother would name their daughter Bush? And Moth's appearance does not fit the name "Bush" whatsoever. So yes, hope you don't get confused if I ever call her Bush... Prologue ''A large river expanded ''far ahead in the cold evening. Drops of water dripped from leaves in the trees, splashing into the small calico's fur. Few chirps and scuttles sounded in the forest, but were covered up by the loud sounds of the river. A waterfall was far to the right, so it was especially noisy around this area. However, this was the only place with large rocks they could use as stepping stones. Lifting her light blue eyes, she could see the sun drowning down the foresty horizon. "Ow! You stepped on my tail!" "Suck it up, I can barely see anything!" "It's getting so dark." "And cold." "Hush Shadow, Moth!" Blinking she looked to her side to see her mother, Red hushing her two siblings, white her father stayed close to her, his spikey cream fur sticking up. She crept closer to his side, knowing that the dangers of crossing the river so close to the waterfall. If they tripped and someone got lost in the river, it would be the end of that cat. She glanced at them. She did'nt want to lose any of them, especially when they were all she had. "We need to cross the river before it gets too dark." Her father, Thorn, meowed. "But it's so dark!" She mewed. "How will we cross without falling?" she fixed her light blue gaze on her father. "We will carry you, Willow. You will be fine." His deep mew rumbled. Red shook out her fur. "Let's get started then!" Her mother meowed. Her black fur was spotted with orange, and her paws were white along with her muzzle. She had gotten her colors from her mother, but not her pattern. She had been named Willow after a willow that saved her mother from a pack of dogs a very long time before she was born, she had always been proud of that. Willow felt her scruff pulled upwards and her paws lift from the ground as Thorn picked her up. She was four moons, and for two moons she had been travelling with her family for a perfect home. Her father tensed and bunched up his muscles, and leapt on the first stone far ahead. The current splashed at his paws, and she could feel the cold water tug at her tail harshly, and she jerked it up out of the water as her father leapt to the next stone. As her father arrived to the next side, she jumped out of his grasp and was happy to feel the solid earth under her paws once again. Mud squished inbetween her pads, and she imagined how nice it would be to be out of the mud. Rainfall happened too often now. They often had to shelter under rocks and trees because the rain was too hard too continue on. She watched as her father leapt back to the other side and grabbed ahold of Moth, and held her breath as he carried Moth to the side, and let out a sigh of relief when they arrived to her side safely. "I've got Shadow, Thorn!" her mother called from the other side. "Alright!" Thorn called back. She suddenly realized that it had gotten much darker, and she could barely make out the orange in her mother's pelt as she carried thorn, jumping on the rocks. Letting out her breath, she trusted her parents. She perked her ears when she heard a splash, then a yowl. Heart beating fast, she suddenly realized that her mother had slipped into the water. "Red!" Thorn yowled, leaping onto a stone again, when Red was clinging to a rock. A large wave hit Red, and she squinted her eyes to see better. She could feel her heart thumping loudly in her chest. "Mama! Shadow!" Moth wailed in terror when Willow realized that Shadow was gone. "Shadow!" Red gasped. Thorn was leaping the rocks quickly and extended his paw to grab her brother, but missed. "Red! Thorn!" She heard her brother's terrified call. "Shadow!" Thorn wailed as Shadow disapeared under the waves. "Shadow! Come back!" Willow wailed and turned, running across the bank, but her brother did not reapear. ''Come back! Come back! Don't leave us! ''she wailed inwardly and tripped on a rock and fell to the ground, her heart beating wildly in her chest from both the run and her terror as Shadow disapeared under the waves. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine it as a dream. ''It's just a dream, it's just a dream. When you wake up, Shadow will be back. Everyone will be together, traveling and playing in the bushes. It's just a dream. ''she thought deperately. She opened her eyes as teeth grabbed her scruff. "Shadow?" she whimpered, looking around to see if it was just a dream. But it was'nt. And she would never see her brother ever, ever again. Chapter one: No forever ''"Mom?" Moth mewed ''softly. Willow trotted next to her sister, by their father. Red looked down at Moth softly. "Yes?" she murmured. Moth looked at her with wide, green eyes. "Can we rest? I'm tired." Moth mewed. Willow felt a pang of sympathy for her sister. Shadow and Moth were close siblings, besides all the times they bickered. Ever sinse their brother's death, Moth had been quieter, but still had the bounce of playfullness and energy. "I don't know." Their father rumbled. "Maybe we can shelter under that rock up ahead?" He suggested. Willow glanced down the snowy hill, a large rock extending. They were travelling in the mountains, and it was tough. The snowy terrain was the place she would want to be the least. Her parents spent most of the time in the day hunting, but they still did not catch very much. Whatever they did catch, Willow and Bush were always spared most of it. Her mother was growing quite thin, she had noticed over the days in the mountains. Red nodded her agreement. "Yes, that would be a formidable place to rest." She murmured. Moth and Willow exchanged glances before Willow squeaked, "Race you there!" and darted off. She heard her sister chasing after her, and Willow paws skidded the ground of the hill. It was an amazing feeling, going so fast with the wind blowing hard at your fur- like flying inches above the ground. Suddenly the ground benieth her feet disapeared and suddenly darkness enfolded her, snow seeping deep into her fur, the cold soaking her skin. Struggling in the soft coat of icy snow. Breaking to the surface, she realized that she had just fell off of a small ledge, about four inches, into a pile of snow. Twisted her neck to look around, she saw Moth sitting by the rock. "I won! I won!" Her sister squealed. "Yeah, yeah." Willow muttered, shaking snow from her fur. "Woah, I thought you had disapeared, snowball!" Her father's voice rumbled above. Looking up with narrowed light blue eyes, she saw Thorn's dark green eyes gazing at her from above the tiny ledge. Without saying anything, Willow stood up and bounded over to Moth, sitting down in the shelter of the rock, relived to get out of the constant snowfall. She curled up into a ball, and moments later felt the warm presence of her mother as Red lay down softly by them. Moth curled up beside Willow, and the little calico was glad to have her family around her as her father lay on the other side of them, sheltering them from the cold wind. Her vision blurred as she closed her eyes, darkness overwhelming her senses as she drifted into sleep. Snoring sounded in her ears as Moth slept beside her. Willowflare opened her sleepy blue eyes, peering over her father's orange tabby fur. The sunlight streaked in her face lighting up the air, but produced scarce heat. She pressed against Thorn, but jerked back almost as soon as she touched him. Her father was cold. Standing up shakilly on her paws, she prodded her father with a paw. "Thorn?" She mewed. She nudged against his cheek, trying to wake him up. "Father? Father!" She whimpered. She turned to Red, who was just waking, her eyes stinging with tears as the wind blew at her face. "Mother! He won't wake up!" She cried. Red's gentle green eyes immediately grew serious. She stood up, padding quietly to her mate. "Thorn." Willow heard her mother whisper into his ear. Moth, beside her stirred. Her sister awoke, but immediately sensed the tension in the air, and sat up without a word. She heard a small gasp from her sister beside her as her mother prodded Thorn, doing everything she could to wake him. "Mother?" Willow murmured softly. Red looked at Willow and Moth, taking a small deep breath. "We... we have to go." She whispered, and the two kits cast sad glances at Thorn. Moth pressed against Willow. "Mom? What about Father? Will he catch up?" Her sister whimpered. Red glanced at them, her mother's eyes shielding her emotions. "Yes. He will catch up with us soon." Her mother replied. Willow glanced back at the 'sleeping' Thorn, and tried to belive her mother's words, wanted to believe her mother's words. But she could'nt. ~-~-~-~-~-~ Now that they were out of the mountains, a grassy moor with few trees expanded almost to as far as Willow could see. Jumping around in the grass, the calico felt a wave of loss. She wished her father and Shadow could have made it this far. Their whole journey was to find the perfect home, but two cats so far had been picked off. Who was next? Or had they reached their destination? Willow felt her sister's pelt brursh hers and Moth leaped past her, chasing after a butterfly. Willow squeaked in happiness, darting after the butterfly as well. It had been awhile sinse they had played with butterflies, let alone ''seen ''one. "Don't get lost!" Red called from behind them. Willow nodded. "Of course!" Then the whiff of rabbit caught her attention. Darting that direction, she chased after the rabbit. However, a rabbit was much faster, and bigger, than a three moon old kit. The rabbit dissapeared before she knew it. Trotting back to her mother and sister, Willow looked around. "This place is so wide open." She mewed, falling back next to her mother. "Where are we going to rest tonight?" She asked. Her mother blinked. "We'll find some place, Willow. Don't worry." Red reassured her. Willow nodded then looked at Moth, then to a large rock ahead. "Race you there, Moth!" Willow squealed, darting towards the rock. "No fair! Your much faster!" Moth squeaked from behind, but she knew her sister was chasing. Her claws tore at the grass as she ran, she had not been in such a wonderful place in moons! She could roam freely without having to look out for ledges, cliffs, rocks and trees... it was amazing! Willow leaped on the rock, her calico pelt gleaming in the open sunshine. Moth leaped on the rock once she caught up, sitting next to her. "I win! I win!" Willow squealed happily. Red trotted to where they were, catching their breaths, calmly. "Alright, you little furballs," Red purred. "Let's go find a place to rest for the night." Willow and Moth squealed in usion, "Okay!" and bounded after their mother. By the time they found a place the moon was shining in the sky above. It was a old badger den, the scent of badger stale and barely clinging to the set. Padding in after there mother, Red checked the scent again before lying down against the dirt. Moth curled up by her stomach, and Willow, by her chest. She breathed in her mother's sweet scent, glad to have her mother with them, after Thorn's and Shadow's deaths. She liked sleeping next to her mother. It was so calming after a day's events. After the harsh events that made up her life, made up what she was and how she was. She looked up at Red with wide, light blue eyes that gleamed in the dark. "Red?" She murmured. Her mother's blue eyes appeared in the dark of the badger set. "Yes, Willow?" The reply came, sounding in her ears. "Can we stay here forever?" She mewed. Her mother laughed softly. "Oh, Willow." She murmured as Willow's eyes began to droop, her mother's tongue rasping over her ears. "There is no forever." Chapter two: One more night ''Sunlight filtered into the badger's den, ''greeting Willow's wake. Her light blue eyes adjusting to the gloom, she felt empty space where her mother was last night. Sitting up in confusion, she turned to see Moth sitting beside her, staring out of the den. She prodded her sister with a white paw gently, and her sister's green eyes cleared like clouds moving away from the sun they were covering moments before. Moth looked at her, smiling cheerfully, but Willow knew that she was hiding the sorrow she felt inside, she knew her sister long and well enough to know that. "Red went out hunting. Said for us to stay here, so I was just looking out for trouble." Moth explained their mother's absence. Willow nodded. Trouble was'nt the only thing she was looking out for. Like Willow, Moth wanted to belive that their father was padding after them, and would arrive with a welcoming purr, asking why they left him behind in the moments with a smile. But that would not happen, so the only thing Willow could do was block the imagination of it really happening, because she knew it was'nt, and when she thought about it, pain threatened to choke her, wash over her like a wave of water that probably brought the death of their brother. Willow stood, closing her eyes and breathing in the stale scent of badger. Red always told them that they should recognize the different scents around them, for they would all become very useful in the future. Everytime she said that, Willow would remember painfully that their mother would not be there for them forever, and that eventually they would have to go out solo, and that was the way it was, the way it always would be, with loners. Willow turned and trotted towards the front of the set, poking her head out. She could hear behind her, "Willow! What are you doing?", the voice belonging to her sister. Willow twitched her nose, all kinds of scents following. Heather, rabbit, stale badger, the scent of her mother, fresh on the grass. "I just want to see what it looks like out of here. It was too dark so see anything last night, so i wanted to see around the den." She explained calmly to her sister as Moth brushed up beside her. "There's not much out here." Moth observed. Willow searched her gaze around the fields. The heather looked endless, the wind brushing it's tips. Trees stood here and there, their leaves rattling in the wind, and a rather large pond in the distance, shining in the sunlight. "I know." She mewed. "But it's beautiful." she felt Moth press against her. "I wish Shadow and Thorn were here to see it." Moth murmured. "I can imagine Shadow disobeying Red and Thorn... getting us into trouble by convincing me to come off with him, while you would'nt be far behind, even if you denied to go." Pain and longing stabbed at Willow's heart. She turned her head away from Moth so her sister would'nt see the tears stinging her eyes like acid. Soon after, they caught sight of a distance in their grief-filled silence. She squinted her eyes, and realized that it was indeed not Red, for their were three shapes in the distance, not one. For a moment she squinted her eyes, wondering if that was Shadow and Thorn with Red, but all the shapes were the same size, all apparently adult cats. And they were heading their way. "Let's go." Willow meowed immediately, and the two kits turned and darted into the badger's den. "Hide, cover yourself in dirt, do something!" Willow commanded Moth quickly. It was dark, but Willow had white and a orange in her fur as well as black, and Moth was a light, cream color. They would not blend in the darkness very well. Moth understood immediately. Moth and Willow worked together, ripping at the soft dirt. Once a shallow hole was made, large enough to fit their small bodies, they hid crawled into the hole. Willow extended her paw, scooping up piles of dirt at a time, pouring it over their fur until dirt coated the color of their fur. She sneezed at the dirt in the air that flung into her face, but Moth nor her said anything. At that point there were voices outside, undoubtly strangers. She closed her eyes and listened over the breathing of her and her sister, and made out the voices that filled in the darkness of the badger's den. "Smells like loner over here. Fresh too. Looks like we have some cats to teach a lesson." One said, and Willow could feel her heart pounding in her chest as another spoke. "Oh boy, we haven't even had a little skirmish in so long." Another voice said. "Should we check it out?" She closed her eyes, hoping the dirt disquised their scent as well as their color. She would be surprised if the cats outside the set could'nt hear the thumping of her heart as panic welled up in her chest. "No. We'll just report it to Marrow." she relaxed as the cats moved on. "Yeah, yeah. Guess we always have to listen to Pookie and report to Marrow all the time, huh?" A third one grumbled. Once the voices were gone. Willow and Moth sprung out of the dirt, shaking out their fur, and Willow watched as Moth sneezed, then sat down and began to groom her fur for what seemed like a life time. Willow rolled her eyes. Her sister liked to keep her pelt clean, and hated it when Red tried to clean it. Before she could say anything, Red charged in, her green eyes wide in panic, then she saw her mother relax seeing them both alright. Red rushed over, licking them both in the ears. "Oh! Your alright." She breathed. "I thought those rouges might have taken you or something. I saw them near the badger den, and had no choice but to hide until they left." Red meowed softly, affectionally nuzzling them. "Nope! We're alright." Moth announced proudly, and Willow puffed up her chest, feeling pride that the rouges never knew they were there, along with the fear of what could have happened. "Good." Red murmured, then turned, and slid out of the set. A minute or so after, their mother returned with a large rabbit in her jaws. She set it down gently. "here. Let's share." Red meowed, settling by the rabbit. The meal was short lived. Willow quickly adjusted to the silence between mother and daughters. Quietly, Willow counted the events that had happened. ''Shadow's dead. Thorn's dead. We have finally come to the perfect living place just to find it was already taken and we may just get raided and killed in our sleep. Wonderful. How wonderful this journey has been. ''Willow sat up, licking the dirt off of her chest fur. She had always been proud of her night black pelt with pure orange and white mixed with it. She prefered her calico pelt over Moth's sand colored tabby pelt and Shadow's boring pure black. She still did. Her light blue eyes drifted up to her mother's face, where her mother was avoiding their gazes, staring at her paws. "We can not stay here." Red's voice rang out in the darkness. Willow glanced at her sister, who was kneading the ground with her paws. With a pack of rouges living here? Yeah. They were ''totally ''going to stay here. ''Way to point out the obvious, mother. ''She kept her thoughts to herself. Her mother's blue orbs were fixed on them, giving Willow the notion to pay attention. Her mother stood up. "We have to go now." Her mother said, her voice hollow with determination and grief. "What? Now?" Moth, beside her gasped. "Yes, now." Their mother's voice softened. Willow remained silent. Questions surrounded her thoughts, pictures floating in her mind of what might happen next, or what they may face. ''Will we ever find the right home? Chapter three: The sacrifice The moors extended farther then Willow ever ''thought. Grassy hills and few trees extended down the horizon. There was a thick line of trees far, far ahead. And after that there was fewer trees, it was so strange. ''Two-legs probably. ''she suggested to herself. Red walked quickly beside them, her forest green eyes giving nothing away as she walked. But Willow knew she was very eager to get out of the rouge territory before the sun fully arose. Moth walked on the other side of Red, slowing down every now and then, but like Willow she never complained. It was glazing hot and not Willow's prefrence of walking, her fur was damp with sweat, but they had to push on. It was well past dawn, awhile before sunhigh however, and the rouges as far as she knew would be going after them any second now. They could already be on their trail. No time could be wasted. Swaying her tail, Willow shook her fur, and droplets of sweat that clung to her fur flew into the air. She panted in the heat, her muscles pushing on with effort. They had been walking sinse long before dawn, the moors they were at were so huge. She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering Shadow and Thorn, and knew that if they stopped and took a break they could very well be close to death. And she did not want Thorn's and Red's efforts to keep them alive to be wasted. She did not want to wind up dead, torn up in a pile of blood like Shadow's body was found slowly flowing in the calm river below the waterfall. She opened her eyes, and looked up at her mother, and she could tell that Red was exausted as well. They had been trudging in the moors for so long, and it had been so hot for awhile now. She lowered her head and stared at the ground. Anger swelled up in her chest. Why did the rouges have to be here? They had found the perfect living place, a wide open space that fit the means of all three of them, and what happens when they find it? Rouges! Vicious, murderous, ruthless rouges! At that moment she wished she could grow so big, she could crush the rouges like ants! Then they would'nt have any problem with rouges. But whatever fantasy she tried to dive into, her mind always wondered back to the quiestion she tried to hard to push away. The occational breeze seemed to whisper into her ears, The rougues are coming, they are on your trail, they will soon be upon you.... fur brushed against hers and she lifted her head. The thin ice melted from heart when she saw her sister's wary, but happy smile. "It'll be alright." Moth mewed, knowing her too well to not see how troubled she was. "you'll see." Willow wished she knew if her sister was right. Suddenly, they all came to a stop, her mother looked at them, her green gaze glowing with worry and exaustion. "We will take a short break here." She announced, and both dismay and relief filled Willow. What if the rouges caught up while they took a break? They needed it, but a break during a matter of life and death!? What was her mother thinking? But at the same time that Willow wanted to cry out defiance, she was happy to finally take a rest, exaustion overwhelming her limbs. She collapsed to the ground, wariness filling her. She opened her eyes and looked into Red's, and she could see what her mother was thinking. ''We are only three moons, but with our expirience you could count us as six or seven. ''she thought, closing her eyes once more. She felt her mother's tongue rasp over her ear, but no voices filled her ears, no reassurance that everything really would be alright. She heaved a deep breath. ''Small break. Small break. ''she thought, and that was the last thought that filled her mind before she gave in to sleep. ~-~-~-~-~-~ Pawsteps thundered in her ears. Like dogs rampaging through the forest, but softer and constant, like there were many. "''Willow!" The voice of her mother put Willow back into consiousness, and her eyes bolted open as she realized what were happening. She scrambled to her paws and saw that Moth and Red had just begun to dart away from the group of rouges. She chased after her mother, her heart beating wildly and her legs driving her faster than they ever have, encouraged by the panic welling up in her chest. Her eyes wide with terror, she dared not look behind her. Do. Not. Look. Do. Not. Look. ''She told herself constantly as she caught up with her mother and Moth. The rouges were gaining on them, soon would be upon them, her death was drawing near. It had been put down somewhere that she would die three moon old, viciously murdered along with her kin by nasty, rushless, cruel heartless rouges. Somewhere. A rock jutted out of the ground somewhere up ahead, behind it was a group of brambles. That would be a hiding spot, a good one, but the rouges eyes would never leave them, and that even may be where they die. Something slammed into her side and pain swelled up in her shoulder as she raced past the bushes, and next thing she knew, her fur was wound up and stuck by the thorns of the brambles. She struggled, tried to move but the thorns pierced into her skin, so she stopped. Then she noticed that the rouges had stopped, and there was cruel guffaws of laughter, and a shriek. ''Red! ''her heart pounded in her chest, she wanted to cry out her mother's name but she did'nt dare. Instead she watched frozen with terror as blood spilled on the grass. Bush probably farther down, dead as a doornail, killed before she could even utter a cry. Horror remained in Willow's heart at what she just saw. The rouges turned to leave, their gazes searching around. She pushed deeper into the bushes, but that did not stop her from seeing her mother's murderer. It was a female. She had completely white fur, her gaze was amber, cruel and merciless. Blood dripped from her claws, splattered over her paw. "Let's go! The little calico is probably far dead gone now." The she-cat commanded the others, a shiver going down Willow's spine as she spoke. The other rouges dipped their head and padded after her. The last one to leave, a muscular brown tabby tom, kicked dirt on her mother's corpse. Anger swelled up in Willow's chest. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on the leaves. So they were both dead. Moth and Red. She had lost everything, Shadow and Thorn, everything! Tears stung her eyes as she watched the rouges until they were out of sight. Then there was movement beside her. "Willow?" It was a soft whisper, full of fear and horror, and when she saw Moth's eyes she saw she had that look that described, please tell me this is a dream. Lend me comfort, wake me up! but just seeing her sister alive made her forget about the look in her eyes. She could only utter a word. "Moth." She breathed softly, tears welling up in her eyes that had been waiting to be released for so long now. So long. Without another word, Willow struggled, tearing herself out of the brambles, helping her sister out of them as well. Both of their pelts were covered in thorns, and they left quite a bunch of their fur on the thorny brambles. The only sounds Willow heart were the faint chirpings of birds, the beating of her own heart, and the fain wind. Her pelt was still hot, even hotter now that the sun had risen, as she stepped towards her mother, unsure of what to think. She blinked tears out of her eyes and padded quietly forward. "Red?" She whispered. But there was no reply. She crawled to her mother's face and pressed against her cheek. It held scarce warmth in it. She closed her eyes, and she felt blood flowing under her paws, warm and fresh. She backed away from the body, the blood, the pain. They had to do something. They could not wait for death to take them. They had to figure out how to survive, they had to teach themselves the things their parents had not. She lifted her chin up, the horror replaced by determination beside overwhelming grief. "Mother," She murmured. "I promise I will avenge you. You death will not go in vain." she leaned close to her mother's ear, and she felt Moth press against her. She licked her mother's cold forhead affectionately. "Thank you for everything." And she leapt over her mother's head, and padded away, with one last final glance at her mother's corpse. Her sister followed her silently, and they shared the same thought. Willow lifted her face to the sky, and the sun shined down on her face. "I promise." Chapter four: ''The clouds were dark and stormy, puffed up to half their size covering the ''sky with their darkness an hour before. The rain that poored down hard, the creators of the puddles of muddy water that filled up every dent in the ground, had vanished. The clouds in the sky were clearing, brighter than they had been before. Droplets of water dripped from leaf to leaf on the trees, which had made their protection from the rain poor under the pine trees. The grass was wet, the mud soft and squishy under Willow's paws. Her fur was soaking wet, and she blinked a drop of water out of her eyes. It had been two days since her mother's death, her and Moth had only a morsel to eat when they just managed with teamwork to take down a mouse. She paused and looked at Moth. "Let's try to find something." She murmured as she hurt scuttles of tiny paws all over. They had not been successful, but she remembered watching her parents proffessionally hunt. Moth nodded. "Okay." She mewed softly. The two she-cat's paused as they heart the scuttling of a mouse in a bush. Willow circled the front side, exitement growing as she stopped, waiting by a bramble as her sister stalked the prey. Her sister crashed into the bush, and a mouse leapt out of the bush, running her way. Willow pounced on it, her claws digging satisfyingly into it's skin, but it struggled out of her grasp and darted away. Bush was on it's trail immediately, and Willow watched as her sister struck it down. ''You almost missed, Willow. ''she thought. ''If Bush was not here, it would be gone. You must improve if you want to really survive out here. We learned a great deal from Red and Thorn just from watching them, but your not watching now. Your doing. ''She thought as she padded over to her sister. "Good job." She mewed. Moth smiled. "You helped." She mewed. Of course. Moth would never brag or gloat. They shared the mouse, their first catch today. It was fairly plump, a catch to be proud of. They had several attempts to catch something today, but unfortinately they all had failed. Once the mouse was eaten and finished, every bit of flesh on it's bones devoured, they continued on. Their surroundings were not quite the forest nor the moors, less trees then that, but still plenty of shelter. There was a pile of rocks ahead with one larger jutting out by all the smaller rocks. Willow raced ahead of Moth and leapt up rock to rock until she reached the top. Moth was slowly climbing the one below her, then scrambled up to the rock she was on. Moth pressed against her, and Willow looked back at how far they traveled. Looking up to the sky, she watched the clouds float by. ''Look at us now, Red, Thorn, Shadow. ''she thought, pride filling her at what they had done. ''We are surviving in the wild, all on our own! ''she closed her eyes, thanking that Moth had survived the rouges with her, survived the river, the mountains too, because now she was'nt alone like she could have been. Suddenly, she hurt yowls and un-understandable chatter coming their way from the direction they came from. She opened her eyes and stiffened, feeling her sister press against her. She also heard panting- and barking. ''Dog! Instinctively she leapt down from the rock, Moth at her heels, and leapt over the bushes just as the dog noticed them, getting loose of it's twoleg owners. She sped down the hill, her heart beating wildly in her chest. Terrified, she and her sister continued running down the slope, the dog's paws thundering after them. She glanced behind her shoulder, her light blue eyes wide with fear, the dog was white and it's eyes seemed to be blue, it's tongue lolled out of it's mouth discustingly and was she suprised to see it was small compaired to the dogs her mother had told her stories about. But it still meant danger, especially if it was looking at her like that. While she was looking away, her long fur snagged on some brambles, and Moth sped ahead. The dog was catching up and, panicing, Willow pulled herself out of the hold of the tendrils, ripping fur out of her side, and sped on. She chased after her sister, the dog after her heals. She was relieved that her sister had gotten away. She could feel the dog's breath on her tail, she could already feel the dog's teeth sinking into her flesh. But she pushed on, until she saw a tree with a branch jutting out of the side, that she could scramble up for safety. Determined and confident now, she raced faster, and leapt at the willow tree, her claws extended, and scratched up the soft willow tree, climbing onto the branch. She panted with effort, suprised that she had managed to climb the tree. It was fairly low- still to high for the stupid dog to reach- and gasped for breath. She pressed against the tree as the dog howled and barked, until three twolegs appeared, yowling at the dog angrily. The dog sulked off, leaving Willow alone. She wanted to go find Moth, but what if the dog got loose again? And it was getting dark. Trembling, she pressed against the branch and closed her eyes. ~-~-~-~-~-~ The night air was humid in new-leaf. The change of weather was pleasant, especially because there was more prey about, but Willow still missed the cold air. She did'nt like the taste of warm air with her thick fur covering her skin, making it itchi and hot, with no way to cool down.She did not quite like it at all. She closed her eyes, wishing Moth was here so she had someone to talk to. But there was no one. No one but her and her thoughts, and painful memories. There was soft pawsteps and some rustling of the bushes farther ahead, near the hill. A soft voice spoke out into the darkness, heavy with worry. "Willow?" Moth called. Oh, her brave sister. Doing something she would have never done, trudging through the dark with all the dangers just waiting to strike. Oh, how she loved her sister's courage. "Willow?" At the second call, Willow had to answer. "Moth? I'm here." She called softly to where she saw her sister's creamy pelt in the dark. "Oh! I was so worried- where are you?" Moth replied, relief obvious in her voice, and she caught her sister's green eyes gleaming in the darkness. "Here, in the tree." She replied, slipping her lower body off the thick branch, her paws clinging to it as her feet fought for a solid place under foot. Letting go, she hid the ground with a ''thud, ''though it did'nt hurt even half as much as it was loud. "Are you okay?" She heard her sister's voice, heavy with concern. "Better than ever." She grunted, standing up. She felt her sister press against her. "I thought the dog's had gotten you." Moth mewed softly. Willow smiled. "I thought they would have too, until I spotted that tree." Exitement replaced her old wariness. "You should have seen the leap I had made to latch onto the tree! Luckily the wood is soft and easy to hold onto." Willow smiled as she spoke. Moth laughted softly, guiding her to where